Plate VII from Let There Be Fashion, Down With Art (Fiat modes pereat ars)

Plate VII from Let There Be Fashion, Down With Art (Fiat modes pereat ars), created by Max Ernst in 1920, is one work from a significant portfolio of eight lithographs. This print exemplifies the critical and disruptive spirit of the Dada movement immediately following World War I. Originating within the nascent French Dada scene, the portfolio title itself—Fiat modes pereat ars—translates to “Let there be fashion, down with art,” signaling Ernst’s highly ironic and cynical stance toward bourgeois aesthetic standards and the rapid commercialization of taste in the post-war era.

As a lithograph, this piece allowed Ernst to exploit reproductive media, contrasting the hand of the artist with the look of mechanical precision often found in mass-produced advertising and fashion plates. The work utilizes techniques of collage and juxtaposition that characterize Ernst’s early Dada output, forcing disparate, often absurd, imagery together to create unsettling compositions. While the overall portfolio focuses on satirical critiques of prevailing societal norms, this particular plate contributes dynamically to the series’ overarching narrative, utilizing the sharp lines and stark contrasts typical of the Let There Be Fashion series.

The execution of these highly experimental prints positioned Ernst as a pivotal figure bridging Dada’s calculated chaos and the systematic investigation of the subconscious that would define Surrealism. The series, executed in 1920, is crucial for understanding the transition in his methodology, moving beyond purely literary or phonetic Dada gestures toward concrete visual constructions derived from found materials. This important example of early French modernism remains essential viewing for scholars of 20th-century art. This particular impression of Plate VII is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, where it serves as a core example of Max Ernst’s revolutionary approach to graphic media.